sonic

Play Store users can get 5 SEGA games at significant discounts for a limited time, each at $0.99. These are part of the larger set of apps, games, and media on sale in the Play Store's weekly deals collection.

It was only three months ago that Android got SEGA's latest entry in the obligatory kart racing genre, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. Now the sequel, which came out a year later on the consoles, has graced our platform only a day behind iOS. But don't reach for your wallets just yet: there are some serious issues with Sonic Racing Transformed that might mean it's not worth the $5 entry fee.

Happy New Year, Android gamers. If you're lucky enough to get today off from work, no doubt you're wondering how to spend your vacation and/or recovery time. We've got a few humble suggestions: the seven best games of the dozens and dozens that were featured on Android Police last month. This eclectic mix of titles should have a little something for everyone. Here are our favorites from December, in no particular order, with a few runners-up thrown in for good measure.

December 25th, 1993. A fresh-faced and (mostly) innocent little boy wakes up and rushes through his breakfast to make sure he beats his little sister to the Christmas tree. Underneath he finds four gifts: a Sega Genesis game console, RBI Baseball, Disney's Aladdin, and Sonic The Hedgehog 2. Twenty years later, that boy, no longer little and considerably less innocent, can relive countless wasted hours on a 5-inch phone screen. Sonic 2 is now in the Play Store.

In its continuing effort to revitalize the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, SEGA has released yet another made-for-mobile title starring our favorite member of the family Erinaceidae. Sonic Jump is a vertical platformer, with retro 2D visuals. The goal? Jump. In a generally upwards direction. And, of course, collect rings.

If a Sonic game needs a whole lot more explaining than that, it's probably cause for skepticism (the Sonic Adventure series excluded, perhaps).

Touchscreens have allowed a whole new era of innovation in mobile gaming and so far it's been pretty great. Sometimes, though, you just need buttons. There are a variety of companies out there trying to create the right solution and this isn't even the first review I've done on a third-party controller. With a unique grip to hold your smartphone, though, this one actually seemed like it stood a fighting chance of not disappearing into the nearest drawer.

We heard about it back in February, and now it looks like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II is about to start rolling out. Those of you with Tegra 3 chips in your devices, get ready to have your SoCs rocked off*. Everyone else will be waiting for a little while. The gaming company's follow-up to Episode I of the same game will launch on Android tomorrow, for $6.99.

If you were a child of the 80's or early 90's (and weren't some Nintendo fanboy, pft), the name Sonic probably has some deeper, almost religious meaning to you. I remember worshipping at the Genesis 16-bit altar for hours on end as a kid, and my deity of choice was the hedgehog in blue. Sonic. Sonic 2. Sonic 3. Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic CD (oh yeah). Screw Sonic 3D Blast, though.